


The Summer Before - Part 3 (Counterpoint)

by bluetoast



Series: Angels and Ministers of Grace [3]
Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Awesome Phasma, Baseball, Ben Solo Needs A Hug, Broken Bones, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Goodbyes, Hurt/Comfort, Injury Recovery, M/M, Other, Rey Needs A Hug, Stitches, baseball is a plot point
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-05
Updated: 2016-11-05
Packaged: 2018-08-29 06:27:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8478778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluetoast/pseuds/bluetoast
Summary: Rey is working as hard as she can to earn money for college expenses. Even though she is loathed to leave her friends, Poe and Finn, a part of her wants it to be August so she can be on her way to Chicago.Ben is just trying to recover from his car accident. All he really wants to do is get back to his apartment and his cat; he hates being a burden on anyone, even if they're getting paid to take care of him.HC Bingo - Secret Allies





	

Rey Kenobi was spending her last summer in Houston working three jobs. She didn't mind the lack of free time, the notion that come August, she'd board a Greyhound bus bound for Chicago and De Paul University kept her motivated and also gave her something to look forward to. The good news, she supposed, was that her friend Poe's parents were letting her stay in their basement for free in exchange for light housekeeping. This basically translated to vacuuming the stairs every week, checking the pool's chlorine levels, and taking out the trash. Until recently, she had been living in Persimmon House – the closest she'd come to having a home since she was five.

On Sundays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, her job was a server at Chili's. The good news was that working there and being on her feet for six hours constituted exercise and with the heavy lifting, she earned money and exercised at the same time. The tips ranged from okay to above average, with the possible exception to the blond guy on his phone yesterday who left her that hundred dollars, in addition to the change on his tab. (Which was almost a 100% on its own) There was, however, at least one asshole every shift who thought that gratuity was a suggestion, no matter how amazing their service. This was the place where she was earning money for college supplies and staples. 

Mondays and Saturdays were spent shelving books at the local library. It was the highest paying of the three, and it was also additional exercise. The only trouble here was getting distracted by books with interesting titles and summaries, and she'd lost several hours of sleep to reading. This was the place she worked for rent and living money. Rey had managed to cobble together enough scholarships to cover the insane amount of tuition, but not one for room and board. Of the two, she'd rather have her academia covered. She wasn't even bothered by the fact that she'd have to eat a good deal of ramen noodles. If she found a good place with low rent, she might manage to splurge on occasion.

Thursdays and Fridays she ran the register at a hardware store. It was probably easiest of the three, but it was shocking to her how many people were willing to over-share what their purchases were for. Not that there was anything too shocking about doghouses, patching up their concrete basement or 'finally bringing the backyard under control.' It'd been the giggling couple buying chains that made her worry. Rey had just rung the order up and then shaken her head. Why did people think that total strangers wanted to know about their sex lives? Or maybe they'd just wanted to shock her. 

It was quiet in the Dameron house as she dropped her change into the coffee can she kept tucked under the bed. It was almost full, and on her next free afternoon, she was going to roll the coins and deposit them in the bank. Poe was at work and his parents weren't home... she cut that thought off as she heard the garage door opening. The heavy sound let her know that it was Mr. Dameron's truck, and she glanced at the clock. It was just after six – and then she heard another car join the first. “Best get upstairs before they start to worry.” 

She hurried up the stairs and was in the middle of washing her hands when Shara and Kes came in. “Good evening!” Rey managed cheerily. “Poe was already gone when I got back.” 

Kes gave her a tired smile. “Evening Rey. I think it might be a giveaway night. Although I think he'll take handing out various Astros merchandise and tearing tickets over shilling hot dogs up and down the stairs any day of the week.” 

Shara washed her hands as Rey got the leftovers out of the fridge. “Finn doesn't do that, does he?”

“No, Mrs. Dameron. He works in an ice cream concession.” Rey chuckled. “He says the best thing about that job is that it's killed his ice-cream cravings.”

“I'm going to go change – I've been in a suit long enough for one day.” Kes kissed his wife's cheek before walking out of the kitchen. 

“Sorry I didn't get dinner started earlier.” she frowned down at the leftovers. “It was chaos at Lowe's today. Everyone getting ready to do yard work over the weekend.”

“It's all right, Rey.” Shara took the container of fried chicken. “With the traffic, you can never predict when everyone's going to get home.” She sighed. “I need to have something in the car replaced, so I may have to convince my son to loan me his car while it's in the shop.” 

Rey turned from the oven. “I'll take a look at your car when I get home from the library tomorrow. If it's nothing to complex, I should be able to fix it myself.”

*

Finn scanned the bright blue notice over a donation bucket near the employee entrance to the stands. He wasn't certain how all the connections in the world of baseball worked, but seeing a donation request for the good friend of the public relations manager of the Chicago Cubs who'd been struck by a car was a little weird. The guy in question was just twenty-three years old. Growing up in the system had made him skeptical of all charity and he was loathed to accept it – he hated the fact that Poe wouldn't accept gas money from him for the lift to work.

But he _was_ a strong believer in karma. 

He dug into his pocket and took out the five he'd been planning on spending for a late McDonald's run when he and Poe got off work and dropped it into the bucket. Who knew, this guy was in Chicago and maybe some day he'd be there when Rey needed help. 

*

When he was ten, Ben Solo had jumped off the ten-meter platform at the country club swimming pool. He had fallen, with some grace, thirty-feet down to the water, and then plunged further, his feet finally coming in contact with the bottom of the pool, another fifteen down. Swimming back up to the surface, seemed to take forever. Coming out of a drug educed sleep was roughly the same. While the pain was muffled to the point where there was nothing but a dull ache all over his body, his mind was fogged and he struggled to find at least one clear memory of watching Uncle Luke and Anna walking out the door and now. 

“Morning sleepyhead.” An amused chuckle came from his right. “Do you have any idea how long you've been out of it?”

“Gwen?” Opening his eyes took an insane amount of effort. “What the hell?” Awareness was coming back in bits and pieces, and he tried to put more pieces together, coming up empty. His upstairs neighbor was standing next to his bed, with that smirk of hers that she wore when she knew more than anyone else in the room. She was also in jeans and a t-shirt, meaning that she hadn't come straight from work, nor was she on her way there.

“I think the nurse that's in charge of giving you meds mistook you for a racehorse because that's the only way I can think of you being in and out of sleep for nearly forty hours.” She touched his forehead, her expression softening. “Although I can't imagine it was a good rest.”

Ben grimaced as his stomach growled. “That's a couple of missed meals.” He coughed. “I had the strangest dream. My mom was here.” 

She cleared her throat. “Actually, she is.” 

He gave her a blank look. “No, no she isn't.” 

“I'm not kidding, Ben. Your mom's here.” His friend ran a hand through her short hair. “Well, she's here in Chicago, but she's not _here_ in the hospital right now. You fortunately missed the absolutely lovely brawl between her, your uncle, and your shrink.” She shook her head and sat down in the chair behind her. “I don't think your cousin was aware her father knew any curse words until yesterday afternoon.” 

Ben let out a weak chuckle. “I can't believe she's here.” He wasn't entirely certain if he wanted to see her or not, but knowing that she was here; and that his dream of her at his bedside just _might_ have been real, that was more than his drug-addled brain could handle right now. “You said there was a fight?”

She nodded. “The upshot of the altercation was that it'd be detrimental to your recovery for your mom to be in the room while you're awake.” Gwen looked about ready to burst into laughter. “So right now, your mother is scaring the everliving shit out of every ambulance chasing lawyer from here to Milwaukee.” She pursed her lips. “Or terrorizing some poor barista, I haven't been keeping tabs on her.”

“Good morning, Ben.” A voice came from the doorway and a moment later, there was a nurse in butterfly scrubs next to his bed. “How are you feeling?”

“Stoned.” He blinked, “or how I imagine being stoned would feel.” He shifted his eyes to Gwen. “It's Friday, right?”

“Saturday.” The nurse replied before his friend could, her expression thin. “You feel like eating?” 

As if on cue, his stomach rumbled again. “Food would be awesome.” He looked over at his friend. “How was the game last night?”

“A proper crushing of the Pirates.” She grinned. “Six to nothing.” She sat down in the chair to his left. “I think as soon as the drugs wear off and they clear you, you get to leave the ICU today.” 

“That will most likely be this afternoon, after lunch.” The nurse was checking his vitals. “What would you say your level of pain is right now, Ben?”

He blinked a few times, trying to process if he was even in pain. “I couldn't tell you, I'm trying to figure out where Friday went.”

The woman gave him a soft smile. “I'll bring you the breakfast menu and after you eat, you'll be a little more certain of what's going on.” 

“Thanks.” He let out a groan and looked back at his friend as the nurse walked out of the room. “I can't stay in here much longer. I can't afford it.” 

Gwen's chin lifted slightly. “ _You_ focus on getting better. This whole...” She waved her hand around to indicate the room. “Back when they first brought you in, I spent my time in the waiting room setting up a GoFundMe for you and making phone calls. Since I didn't have any idea how long you'd be in here or how bad it was going to be, I just made an estimate on the goal and it's more than doubled, so worrying about what this is going to cost you is no longer a concern.” 

He gave her a look. “You didn't need to do that, I'd have found a...”

“Oh, hush!” She snapped. “It's not like I rounded up a bunch of kids in need of service hours and sent them around Wrigley asking for donations.” She frowned. “Although now that I say that, that might be a good idea to help some of the shelters before the end of the summer.” 

Ben fell back against his pillow. “Gwendoline Phasma, Public Relations Maven.”

“Ben Solo, Aspiring Writer and Martyr.” She chuckled. “I know there's no way in hell you'd agree to letting your mother sue the asshole that hit you.” 

“If the guy has any sense, he'll just pick up a bill or two.” A voice said from the door and Ben looked over, surprised. It was Nate. “I told you I'd get up here.” 

“Hey, Nate.” He managed a smile as his friend came over to the bed. “How long have you been in Chicago?”

“Since four o'clock. Snagged the jump seat on the red-eye.” He stopped next to the foot of the bed. “I really hope that Jen has not seen a picture of you since you've been in here, because she would have a nervous breakdown if she did.” 

“Oh, so _you're_ the Nate who told Ben to be honest about his pain.” Gwen snickered. “I didn't know there were that many people on the planet who could make him listen.” 

“I'm one of the few.” His friend held out his hand to her. “Since Ben's not too coherent, I'm Nate Turabian. Friends since third grade.” 

“Gwen Phasma. Upstairs neighbor for almost six years. He's told me about you. Mostly how you persist in keeping your loyalty to the Mets.” She frowned as she shook his hand. “But I won't hold it against you. It's not like it's the _Yankees._ ” 

To this, Nate merely smirked. “It's very cool to be from New York and hate the Yankees.”

“We were never trying to be cool.” Ben interjected. “We _genuinely_ hate the Yankees.” 

Gwen looked from him to Nate, her lips twisting into a self-satisfied smile. “What about football?”

The two friends spoke at the same time. “Not hockey, so who cares?”

**

“Rey? You awake?” Poe's voice came from the doorway, and she answered with a fake snore. “You can't keep going a hundred miles an hour all the time, you'll get to Chicago and sleep through Orientation Week”

“Nnn.” she grumbled from under her pillow. “What time is it?”

“Little after four in the afternoon. How was Lowe's today?” She heard him come into the room and a chair scrape across the floor. “Stairs look great, by the way.” 

She chuckled and sat up, yawning. “I just wanted a quick nap, since it's Friday and you, no doubt, want to drag me and Finn some place.” 

“Na. I know you're both saving up for school.” He gave her a grin, unrolling the top of the bag of chips he was carrying. “I was thinking we could just have a night in, order some pizza, marathon _Game of Thrones_ on the DVR since the finale is Sunday.” He took a chip from the bag and then held it out towards her.

“I could go for that.” She rubbed her eyes before taking one. “You just keep Finn off the subject of me going with you two to the University of Georgia in August.” She popped the chip in her mouth.

“Not a problem, since I actually understand the whole legacy thing.” He held out his arms, beaming. “Second Generation Bulldog.” He ate another chip.

She smirked and folded her arms. “Third Generation Blue Demon.” 

He snorted, holding the bag towards her again. “I'm sorry, but it's hysterical that a Catholic University has a _demon_ for a mascot. That's almost _wrong,_ like if the University of South Carolina decided to switch their mascot to the _Yankees_.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I think Finn's more excited to leave Houston than you are, even if he's still living in that group home.” He frowned. “I still don't get why he can stay and you couldn't.”

Rey chuckled and took out several chips and set them in one hand. “He was the youngest person in our class, Poe. You know damn well that he doesn't turn eighteen until the end of July. As soon as you graduate or turn eighteen, whichever is later, that's when you leave Persimmon House.” 

“True.” He went slightly pink as she ate some of her snack. “I'm very glad that there's just a three month age difference between us.” 

“Too much information, Poe.” She snorted. “Where were you thinking of getting pizza from?”

“Candelari's, where else?” He grinned. “Really, how are things? You've been working almost non-stop since graduation.” 

“I'm good.” She finished off her chips. “I've gotten enough in tips both this week and last to earn my bus fare and to make a dent supplies I need.” 

“Really?” Poe's eyebrows lifted. “That good?”

“Yeah, some guy last week left me a hundred dollars. He spent his whole meal on the phone with his friend who was in the hospital.” She fell back with a groan. “I also got the change, which was almost another ten.”

Poe chuckled. “Well, some people are just naturally generous.” He ate another chip. “I still worry about you, working as hard as you do.”

She gave him a worn smile. “I'm getting enough sleep, and I'm going to cut the job at Chilli's around Finn's birthday. Work just the two with consistent pay. I still need to find an apartment and a job up in Chicago in August, so I'll need the time.” She ran her hand through her hair. “Orientation is the fifteenth, so...” She cursed. “Shit, that's less than two months now, isn't it?”

He shook his head. “Yes, Rey, it is. Which means you're leaving when, the week before?” He straightened up. “All right, Peanut. We're going upstairs, ordering some pizza and see who can get here first, the driver or Finn.” 

It was on the tip of Rey's tongue to tell her friend that she only really allowed Finn to call her by that nickname, but since those two were practically joined at the hip, it was unlikely she could get Poe to stop. She would, however, draw the line if those two ever got married and adopted a kid and insisted that she was Aunt Peanut. “You really think that Finn's going to eat whatever we order, no problem?”

He smirked. “He's almost as much of a bottomless pit as you are, Rey. As long as it's not anchovies, he'll eat whatever kind of pizza we put in front of him.” 

“Papa Albert deep dish then. You can pick off the green olives.” She replied, swinging off the bed. “Although I can't promise I won't work on making lists during our marathon.” 

“Not a problem.” They headed upstairs. “Reminds me, my mom keeps bugging me to make my own lists of things I need before Finn and I head to Georgia.” 

“You better, or you'll be on the other side of Alabama when you realize you forgot to pack socks.” She snickered. “Or do you not remember what happened to you in seventh grade?”

He turned around and gaped at her, outraged. “How did you find out about _that_?” 

“Your mom.” She smirked and they continued up into the kitchen.

*

Ben tried to remain perfectly still as the doctor carefully removed the stitches from his face. It had been a long week, and once he was out of the ICU, things had automatically looked better. His mother had returned to Buffalo back on Tuesday, and he still could barely recall their interactions. She had been there at night, when he was asleep, and now he had to do his best to shoo his uncle and cousin back to South Dakota. He knew that they had more than their fair share of things to get done. He was fine, really. Everything was healing nicely. He felt cold metal against his cheekbone and he balled his hands into fists to keep from flinching.

“Few more to go before I'm past the eye. You are very fortunate that the wound missed it entirely.” The doctor's voice was calm and collected. “We should also be putting you in a walking cast before the weekend is out. You're probably sick of being stuck in bed.” 

He held up his thumb to say yes, not wanting to speak and risk throwing the scissors off. He was also looking forward to being off soft food. A week of jello, scrambled eggs and thin soup was worse than being in bed. What he really wanted was a loaded pizza or beef on weck, but the later was a remote chance. He'd been in this city nearly six years and still hadn't found a place that served it, at least a decent version of it. Although there were a few Jewish delis who had beef sandwiches that were almost as good. Their amazing pickles almost made up for it.

“Suspect you'd also like a good shave.” There was a rather sharp _snip_ and then the doctor let out a breath. “Done with the area near the eye.” 

A rattle of instruments and Ben opened his eyes to watch the doctor disinfect the scissors before starting on his cheek. The thin tug of thread through skin was almost non-existent, but it still felt odd. He shifted his gaze up over the doctor's head, watching the clock near the door. It was Friday, and he had been in the hospital for a week and a day. He knew that there was no chance of him getting out of here before Sunday, but the nurses has posted a sign on his door that threatened anyone who issued _Game of Thrones_ spoilers. Being off-line also helped. 

“Say what you will about electric razors, that's just not the same as a blade and soap.” the man continued. “Though you're still going to have to be careful for a few weeks, don't want to reopen the wound.”

The idea terrified Ben. He'd seen the pictures from the accident, and he'd looked horrible. He added 'a good shower' to the list of things he wanted. The sponge baths weren't all that great, and he really would just rather be leaning against the wall of his own shower, letting the water gush down around him. Or maybe he'd try out that bathtub that he had only lain in a couple times during the sweltering heat of August and the air conditioner hadn't been able to keep up with the heat wave.

Not that he ever told anyone or admit to lying naked in an empty tub drinking half-frozen Dr Pepper, wishing for winter. He would never understand how Nate could stand the heat of Texas. Just looking at the weather reports from Houston were enough to encourage heat stroke.

“Almost there.” There was a brush of metal against his cheek. “You're also lucky this wasn't any deeper.” 

Ben was starting to get sick of hearing how 'lucky' he was. He was doing an excellent job of not showing how the accident had just thrown him full tilt into a down, and there had been times in the past week when he'd wished he'd not been so lucky. Crawling up from his current state was going to take effort and he never could understand how some people with his mental condition could just _swing_ between their highs and lows. “What are the odds of getting decent pizza before the weekend is out?”

“I'd say very likely, if one of your visitors is willing to bring it in.” He answered. “Although I suggest going easy on the Italian sausage and garlic.” He washed the blades of the scissors again. “So, you think it's the Cubs year this year?”

“Given what the Royals did last year and the year before, I'm saying yes.” He straightened up as the doctor tugged out a stitch in the middle of his cheek. 

“Who'd have thought _that_ team could go to the World Series in back to back years?” He chuckled.

“That team sure did.” Ben closed his eyes and waited for the man to finish his task.

He really wanted to go home.

**

The walk from the library to the Dameron house was two miles; and in the late afternoon heat, it feels like four. It had been an exceptionally long day at work for Rey, a full nine-hour shift, preceded and followed by the walk she was currently on. There had been a backlog of books in need of shelving and she'd dived right into the pile, starting with the six-hundreds in non-fiction and before she was even half finished putting her cart together, three of the other four pages who were supposed to be working called in sick, leaving her and Daniel, who had a work ethic that rivaled hers, with the Herculean task of shelving, helping the clerks with the reading program, and putting the library back in order before the end of the day. 

She turned the corner into Poe's subdivision and heaved a sigh. “Almost there.” Rey was starting to wonder if she should just ask her friend if she could borrow his bike to ride to work and back, but Poe was a little bit – protective – of his Schwinn speeder. She also didn't trust that even if she chained the bike to the rack in front of the library that it would still be there when she got off work. She almost, _almost_ envied her friends in their jobs at Minute Maid Park, but then she remembered that unlike them, she was home before dark almost every day and never had to contend with downtown traffic. However, they did get to see every home game of the Astros for free. 

A car slowed down next to her, and she turned to see Mrs. Dameron, watching her. “Afternoon.” 

“Afternoon, Rey. Would you care for a ride?” She smiled. “You look about ready to drop.” 

She smiled and let herself into the passenger side of the car. “Thanks.” 

“Oh, you're welcome.” she answered, shaking her head. “I can't wait to see if Poe and Finn managed to get the lawn taken care of.” 

“They not working this weekend?” She buckled herself in as they pulled away from the curb.

“They told me they'd put a dent in the job before heading for the stadium.” She glanced over at her. “And don't let them talk you into helping. You do enough.”

Rey looked down at her hands. “I can always do more, Mrs. Dameron, I don't mind.” 

“I seem to recall you fixing this car's engine two weeks ago and saving me several thousand dollars from taking it in to the dealer's.” They turned onto their street. “I just had to buy the fifty dollar part.” 

She felt her cheeks go pink. “I told Poe he should have taken auto-shop with me.” 

“Well, he learned how to cook instead, so it wasn't a total waste for him to take home-ec. I should suggest he make dinner on some of his off-days.” She chuckled. “Of course, then he might set the kitchen on fire.” 

“He only set the fire alarm off at school _once_ and they still haven't proven it was him, since there was more than one burned pan that day.” She replied as they pulled into the drive. “Well, they mowed the lawn, I can tell that much.” 

Mrs. Dameron chuckled as she parked the car in the garage. “The front yard yes, but who knows about the back?”

It was on the tip of her tongue to point out that between the deck, the pool, and the patio, there was decidedly less grass in the Dameron's backyard than the front, but she kept quiet. “Well, at least they didn't attempt to turn the bushes into topiary.” 

“I don't even want to think about what the yard would look like if they attempted that.” She made a distressed face. “Or the house.”

*

“Here we are.” Leslie Phasma pushed open the door of Ben's apartment and he slowly swung himself inside with his crutches, relief washing over him. The whole place smelled of Rain Febreeze, and it was spotless. “You need help?” 

“I got it.” He worked his way over to the couch, sitting down with a groan. “Now I'm good.” He leaned the crutches against the arm. “Thanks for all your help.”

“I'm glad to help.” Gwen's wife was almost a foot shorter than him, and she shut the door quickly, dropping his keys onto the table. “Gwen wanted to be here, but work...”

“I know how work goes.” He ran a hand through his hair, flinching at the slight pain. “You don't have to stay here.”

“I'm supposed to get your settled, young man.” She stood over him, arms akimbo. “I may be smaller than you, but I am older.”

“Yes, ma'am.” He reached over, wincing, to pick up the bottle of hand-sanitizer that was lying on the table next to the couch. He was too sore to get up to go to the bathroom or kitchen to clean his hands. “Are you going to be checking on me every day?” he squeezed a small amount of the gel into his palm and began to work it into his hands.

“If not me, Gwen will.” She let out a sigh, and fished his cellphone out of his bag, setting it next to his keys. “Although I have a feeling that being back in your own space will make things easier.” She gave him a smile. “I'll bring you some dinner in a little while. One of these days, I'm going to get Gwen to cook. I should save up my requests and throw Thanksgiving Dinner at her.” 

“Ten to one, if you do that, she'll come down here asking for an ingredient she forgot to stock up on.” He let out a groan and leaned back, and a moment later, there was a small jingling noise and he looked up in time to see Arya leap into his lap, meowing loudly, in what sounded like a mixture of joy and reproach. “Oh, hello, Missy.” He smiled as the cat started purring, rubbing her head under his chin. He put an arm under her and ran his hand down her spine. “I know, I missed you too.” 

“Is that a cat or a dog?” Leslie shook her head. “Then again, my Corgi thinks he's a Great Dane.” She sighed, “do you need anything? Be honest.”

“I'm great, Leslie.” He looked up at her, smiling. “Thanks.” 

“You're welcome. I'll come see you in a bit.” She moved his bag over towards the wall. “Don't overtire yourself. You're still healing.” 

“I won't.” He meant it. Right now, he just wanted to sit on this couch with Arya and not move until sundown. 

**

It was Rey's last night at Chili's, and she had voluntarily taken the Friday night shift for another server whose family had gotten tickets to the Astros game against the Athletics. Spending her evening here after a morning of being on her feet at Lowe's wasn't exactly ideal, but given that she'd secured a place to live in Chicago this week – with an insanely small rent, no less – she needed to set up a good stash just in case she couldn't find a job right away. The place was full of tourists, and she could never quite figure out why someone would come to Houston and then go to a national chain restaurant. Wasn't the idea of vacation trying new things? 

“Rey, your table four has just been seated.” Melanie, the hostess, looked about as tired as she was. “Don't worry,” she said in a low voice. “no kids.” She gave her a wan smile.

“Thanks.” She nodded and stopped at the table next to the new one to drop off a root beer refill. “Everything all right?” She pulled her best smile and the family just kind of looked at her, nodding. She was immensely thankful that the parents were on the outside of the booths, keeping the kids from running around the place. Rey stepped over to the next table and, to her credit, was only shocked for a moment.

It was Mr. Hundred Dollar Tip – and this time he had a companion; an extremely pretty girl with dark hair and dark eyes. She recovered and went straight into her spiel.

“Good evening, and welcome to Chili's. I'm Rey and I'll be taking care of you this evening. We have a special tonight of Three for Me, your choice of salad or chips and salsa, followed by your choice of fajitas, and finished with a Mini Molten Cake. May I bring you something to drink?” She stepped closer to the table to avoid a collusion with another coworker carrying a heavy tray.

The man clearly recognized her, but didn't speak, looking over at the woman he was with.

She looked up at Rey, with a rather awkward smile. “Strawberry lemonade, please.” 

“Not a problem.” Rey wrote it down before turning to the man. “And for you?”

“Iced tea, no lemon.” He answered, “Please.” 

“Coming right up.” She turned and headed for the bar to put in their drink orders. After checking on her other tables, the beverages were ready and when she returned to table four, the woman was absent, but the man didn't look too worried. “Did you see an appetizer you wanted to try?” 

He shook his head, taking a large swig of tea before answering. “We're still looking, thank you.” 

She nodded, then cleared her throat. “Is your friend in Chicago better?” 

“He is, Rey, thank you for asking.” He almost seemed surprised, and then slid a small business card across the table towards her, and she flipped it over to read what was on the back. 

_I'm proposing to her tonight. This is where we had our first date – and this is where we sat._

She tucked the card into her apron as the woman returned, looking none the wiser. “I'll leave you too look the menu over some more.” She kept her face passive as she went to check on her other tables. This guy was definitely a sweetheart. 

*

It was two in the morning when the phone rang. Ben set down his white Monster and frowned at the ring tone. What the hell was Nate doing calling him at this hour? He shrugged and picked up the phone, hitting the save tab on his open document before answering. “Nate? What's wrong?” 

“She said yes!” His friend screamed, loud enough for Arya to startle awake. “Ben, I'm getting married!” 

“Wait, what?” He blinked, taking another drink of Monster. “You proposed to Meghan? Did you tell me that you were going to do that?” 

His friend laughed. “I did. Don't you remember?” 

“When?” He pinched the bridge of his nose, thinking back. “Was it when I was in the ICU?”

“I... I think it might have been.” Nate coughed. “So, you'll be my Best Man, right?” 

Ben smiled. “You know I will.” He took a breath. “Congrats, Nate.” 

“Thanks.” He let out a breath. “I didn't wake you up, did I?”

“No, I was writing.” He took another drink as Arya came over and jumped into his lap. “The wedding is going to be in Kansas City, right?”

“Most likely, since that's where Meghan's family is.” He took a breath. “And it'll probably be next summer. My head's just... I can't believe it, you know?” 

He rubbed the back of his cat's neck. “I can imagine.” He'd only met Nate's girlfriend Meghan once, and thought she was a pretty wonderful girl. “You need to get some sleep, you have a slew of phone calls to make later today. Your mom will come all the way to Houston and drag you back to Buffalo by your ears if she finds out on Facebook before you call her.” 

“We agreed not to post on Facebook until Monday.” He yawned. “You think Jen can leave the convent to be the cantor?” 

“You make it sound like she's in prison.” He laughed. “I'd say it's highly likely, since it'll be somewhat religious based.” He didn't want to think about any expenses related to this event just yet. “And congratulations, Nate. I'm really happy for the both of you.” 

“Thanks, BB.” He yawned again. “Talk to you later, okay?”

“You better.” He chuckled and ended the call and looked down at Arya. “It's great when someone you care about is happy, isn't it?” He shifted the cat so he could look at his laptop and hold his cat at the same time. “Now, let's see...” 

In response, the cat batted at his chin. 

**

Rey tightened her grip around Finn's waist, her heart torn between the joy that she was finally on her way, and the sorrow of leaving her friends behind. “I'll be back, it's not forever.” She mumbled against him.

“Chicago's so far away, Peanut.” Finn pulled away, saving her the agony of having to break the embrace. “But I think you'd drag yourself there if you had to.” He kissed her forehead. “You call when you get to Memphis, all right?”

“I will. Although I think when I get there, you two will be working.” She answered as Poe drew her into another hug. “You two are acting like I'm heading off forever.” She squeaked as her friend lifted her a few inches off the ground.

“Call us regardless. Leave a message so we know you got to Tennessee.” He set her down. “That's where you have to change buses. Don't get on the wrong one and head for New York.” 

“I won't.” She answered, “I also won't let my phone run out of charge, I'll remember to recharge during my layover, and I'm sleeping on my backpack.” She grinned. 

Poe seemed to compose himself first. “You better get on board, if you want to get the seat you want.” He kissed the top of her head. “Stay safe, Kenobi.” 

She snickered as Finn did the same. “I will. Don't worry.” 

“Take care of yourself, Peanut.” His eyes looked a little misty.

“I will.” Rey swung her backpack around, and drew out her ticket, crossing the short area to where the Greyhound stood, the driver waiting at the foot of the stairs. “Morning.” 

“Morning.” the man looked at her ticket, then tore the end tab off. “Welcome aboard.”

“Thanks.” Despite the feeling that she was leaving her friends behind, she was finally, _finally_ on her way. She slid into the second seat from the front, and she waved to Poe and Finn from the window. She settled down, watching as the bus filled with more travelers, most of them as bleary eyed as she was. Rey saw that some of them smiled as they passed, she remained cross-legged, the De Paul hoodie that Poe had given her for graduation was oversized, the sleeves coming past her hands. She tucked her backpack under the seat in front of her, unzipping the front to draw out a small framed photograph. 

It was her grandparents, back when they were a little older than her, and two strangers. One was a woman in a rather Jackie-O style dress, and when combined with her grandparents, Rey felt they all looked too overdressed for a baseball game. Next to the woman was a blond man who looked to be growing-out a military haircut. He was dressed far more casually than the other three. She put her hand over the strange couple to focus on her grandparents. “I made it, grand-papa and grand-mama – I'm headed to De Paul.” She kissed the corner of the sole photograph of her past and tucked it back into her bag as the bus backed out of the line and headed out of the station and into the August morning.

*

Not having a cast around his leg was a wonderful thing. Being free of that hunk of plaster was enough for Ben that he didn't mind having to spend another two weeks using crutches. He'd caught up on classes, he was cleared to go back to work in the frame shop at Michael's (his boss had been incredibly understanding and had just set him on the register with a stool for the entire month of July) and he'd finished up his summer semester with a three point four average. 

He was more proud of that he'd avoided a crash and burn mentally than he was anything else. Regardless, he still booked an appointment with Doctor Andres this week just to ease into the next semester with a little more grace; more than anything, he went to see his psychiatrist to have someone to vent to who would actually offer plausible solutions. 

He lowered himself into the chair in front of the desk as the man came into the room, and he rested his crutches against the side. “Good afternoon.” Ben said before the doctor could.

“Afternoon, Ben. How about them Cubs?” He grinned as he sat down behind his desk.

“No kidding.” He let out a groan as he stretched out his leg. “I'm headed to go watch them whoop up on the Cardinals this evening.” He chuckled. “My grandma sent me the ticket, sort of a combined getting out of the cast and end of the semester sort of thing.” 

“Your grandmother's a positive influence on you, Ben. You going alone?” He scribbled something down on the notebook in front of him. 

“Well, I'll be sitting with Gwen and Leslie, does that count as going with someone?” He rubbed his nose.

“It does.” He smiled. “How's Arya?”

“I discovered that she likes water more than I thought. I was taking a bath and she jumped in with me.” He laughed. “I didn't even know she knew how to swim.” 

“Maine Coons are like that.” Doctor Andres nodded. “Got your classes scheduled for next semester?”

“Yeah.” He rubbed at his nose. “I uh...” He wasn't certain what the doctor would say to what he was about to tell him. “I decided to be a model for the life drawing class. The department's going to pay me five hundred dollars to do it.” 

He glanced up, his expression calm. “Not worried about being naked in front of a bunch of strangers then?”

Ben chuckled. “I had plenty of nurses, aides, and doctors see me naked this past summer, I think I can manage.” He ran a hand through his hair. “It'll probably be more comfortable this time around. I swear, the hospital keeps their air conditioners set twenty degrees colder than they need to. Not that I have an issue with the cold, I have an issue with being _inside_ and cold.”

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and comments are love!
> 
> Thinking of giving individual stories to each of the five Skywalker kids, as well as Finn and Poe. Y/N?


End file.
